Here's how social media access is changing for teens

Social media has changed for minors: there are more protections and limits. And, consequently, so have their parents. All major platforms, especially Instagram and Tiktok (favorites among minors), limit the accounts of minors and work to determine if users are lying about their age. Tiktok and Instagram set the account to "private" for users between the ages of 17 and 13. Anyone under 13 is blocked.

Tiktok notifies parents when a minor flags content as inappropriate and, more recently, also alerts parents if they post a story or video visible to others. It has very sophisticated parental control tools, like Instagram, which also limits minors' interactions on the platform. It has refined its algorithms to prevent minors from seeing content that is harmful to them (such as diets). Tiktok and Instagram also filter offensive words and content from minors' accounts.

It's clear that if a minor manages to lie about their age, the whole situation collapses. TikTok and Meta use AI to catch those lying: they analyze account data, behavior, profile photos, and so on. Minors caught face restrictions or (if under 13) account blocking. If they make mistakes, users can prove their age by sending documents or selfie videos. YouTube began doing something similar in July, but only on a trial basis in the US.

For us Europeans, these child protection systems could soon apply to all platforms and sites with content harmful to minors, such as pornography, gambling, and generally content unsuitable for young people, including some very "free" social networks like X and Discord. Europe wants it, and Italy is leading the way in implementing it, with an app that will be available on a trial basis by the end of the summer. The United Kingdom and France have already implemented similar filters. But the European Commission says it can also be regulated for lower ages, for example, to prevent children under 13 from accessing social media.

But how will it work in the EU? The app's details—somewhat hidden on the European Commission's website, on a developer page—shed some light on some key points.